Pallet stacking device



Feb. 2, 1965 A. c. FARLEY 3,168,060

PALLET STACKING DEVICE Filed Nov. 28, 1962 s Shee ts-Sheet 1 Feb. 2,1965 A FA LEY 3,168,060

PALLET STACKING DEVICE Filed Nov. 28, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 NV N Arfw ri43/61 BY Us TTORNEYS Feb. 2, 1965 A. c. FARLEY 3,168,060

PALLET STACKING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 28, 1962 UnitedStates Patent 3,168,060 PALLET STAiZKlNG DEVECE Arthur C. Farley,Philadelphia, Pa, assignor to Artco Uorporation, Lansdale, Pa, acorporation of Pennsylvania Filed Nov. 28, 1%2, Ser. No. 244L621 1Claim. (Cl. 108-63) The present invention relates to pallet stackingdevices of the character which permit a fork lift truck to mount palletssuccessively on top of one another for storage of material in a depot orin a warehouse.

A purpose of the invention is to provide a device which can be assembledon a pallet and will enable the pallet to be loaded or unloaded by anoperator without the hazard of bumping his head, and thus to load and unload with increased speed and efliciency.

A further purpose is to eliminate any obstruction across the front ofthe top of the pallet stacking device.

A further purpose is to improve the rigidity of a pallet stacking deviceby means of lateral bracing between uprights which will not impedeloading and unloading.

A further purpose is to provide a pallet stacking device which canreadily be disassembled for knock down purposes but will not obstructentrance to the space above the lower pallet when the pallet stackingdevice is erected.

A further purpose is to permit the load which is placed upon thestacking device to be substantially misaligned laterally and stilladequately supported by the pallet stacking device.

A further purpose is to permit some lack of misalignment in positioningthe upper pallet while providing for adequate support of the upperpallet and permitting the operator to walk into the space above thelower pallet.

A further purpose is to detachably connect a frame supporting the upperpallet to uprights at the corners by pin and socket interconnections.

A further purpose is to brace the uprights between one front upright andthe corresponding rear upright and between one rear upright and theopposite rear upright.

Further purposes appear in claim.

A great deal of warehouse and depot business is conducted by mountingitems to be stored on pallets and positioning the pallets by a fork lifttruck. In recent operations, it is becoming increasingly important to beable to position one pallet on top of another and for this purpose awide variety of pallet stacking devices have been developed.

It is important to permit such pallet stacking devices to be knockeddown and stored in a minimum of space, and this objective is met by thepresent invention.

In order to obtain adequate stability, many of the prior art palletstacking devices have extended a bar across the front and this hasconstituted a hazard to the operator. In the first place, the operatorhas to duck to an uncomfortable position and may unintentionally bumphis head. In the second place, an operator cannot walk into the spaceabove the lower pallet prior to stacking while he stands upright, forexample, when he is depositing or removing items stored in the lowerpallet while the pallet stacking device is in place.

The present invention contemplates the production of a pallet stackingdevice which is sturdy and stable in use, but which is free from hazardto the operator and permits the operator to walk into the space abovethe lower pallet prior to stacking.

At the same time, in the device of the invention it is possible for theoperator to stack an upper pallet without the specification and in the3,168,060 Patented Feb. 2, 1965 "ice great care and without danger thathe may fail to adequately support the upper pallet.

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective of the device of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the device of the invention, showing thepallet in phantom.

FIGURE 3 is a section on FIGURE 2 showing the pallet in phantom.

FIGURE 4 is a detail of the foot construction, somewhat enlarged.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of the pallet stacking device of theinvention showing a modified form of a retainer for imparting rigidityfor the pallet stacking device.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective of a modified form of a pallet stacking devicewhich has the uprights connected by a pallet supporting bearing devicerunning the full length of the side of the pallet between the twouprights, and which has top bracing provided between the uprights.

FIGURE 7 is a View similar to FEGURE 6 showing a device which also hasadditional vertical supporting members between the pallet bearing footmember and the cross brace to act as a retainer.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a diagonal brace between uprights, which can beutilized as a modification of the form of FIGURE 1 or the form ofFIGURES 2 to 4.

In the device of the invention a lower wooden pallet comprises a centerrail 20 and side rails 21 parallel to one another, lower deck boards 22and upper deck boards 23 suitably spaced and assembled as well known inthe art.

The pallet stacking device essentially comprises a left front upright24, a right front upright 25, a left rear up right 26 and a right rearupright 27 and a top frame 28, all of metal, suitably steel.

Each of the uprights at the bottom has suitably united thereto as bywelding a metallic foot 30 consisting of an angle having a horizontalbearing portion 31 which engages the top and a vertical flange 32 whichengages the outside of the pallet at the end of the top deck board andalong the side of the side rail 21. Suitably lanced and bent from thebearing portion 31 is a finger 33 which has a narrow edge wedge portion34 which is relatively far from the flange 32 at the bottom andrelatively closer at the top so that it can extend along the inside ofthe side rails 21 at a space 35 between deck boards and tightly jamagainst the side rail by biting into the wood and thus anchor the foot39.

Each upright 24, 25, 26 and 2'7 is preferably a rod or pipe of roundcross section, and is preferably surrounded by a metal strap 36 at thetop and bottom which extends on both sides or" and is united as by abolt 37 to a panel race 33 suitably of plywood which extends at eachside of the pallet stacking device substantially above the side rail2.1.

In addition, each of the back uprights carries a strap 49 at the top andbottom which is suitably united as by a bolt 41 to a cross brace 42suitably of plywood at the rear which extends at the back of the spacedefined by the lower pallet. These braces perform a dual function ofbracing the uprights with respect to one another and also :of retainingany loose items of the load on the bottom pallet which might tend tobecome displaced either during storage or during transport on the forklift truck.

Each upright at the top receives a metal socket 43 which dependsvertically and surrounds and tightly interconnects with the upper end ofthe upright against lateral deflection.

he upper frame 28 consists of a metal back bar 44 which extends acrosssubstantially above the back brace 42 and is united as by welding at 45to the rear sockets at opposite ends.

. At a position displaced from the side, the back bar 44 interconnectsas by welding at 46 with metal side bars 47 which extend suitablystraight for-ward parallel to the side rail 21 of the bottom pallet, andadjacent to the front upright on the corresponding side the side bars.are bent sharply at 48 to form outward side bar extensions 49 whichengage and support the front sockets 43 as by welding at 50. The bend at48 is desirably at an angle of between 45 and 90 so that the side bar 47is as long as possible so that the upper palletcan be somewhat to theside of center and still be adequately supported.

Also the point 46 of welding the side bar to the back bar is located ata distance toward the opposite upright from the rear upright which isbetween about and A of the center-to-center distance between one rearupright and the other and preferably about /6 of this distance. Thusthere will be adequate room at the top for a man to walk in between twoadjoining parallel side bars 47 without danger of bumping his head orhitting himself, since there is no obstruction between one front uprightand the other at the top.

It will be evident that the device can be assembled by lifting off thetop frame 28 and then folding the uprights since the panel braces 38 and42 can turn about the rear uprights, since the straps act like hinges.

Therefore, the device can be stacked in a'very com pact manner.

When the device is desired to be erected, the feet of the uprights inthe position shown in FIGURE v1 are first mounted on the pallet with thefingers 33 intruding between deck boards and jamming and locking againstthe side rails to hold the feet.

With the uprights thus positioned then the top frame 28 is put inposition bringing thesockets 43 firmly down over the uprights. Since thesockets relatively tightly laterally engage the uprights, the supportofthe top frame is adequate without any wobble.

The fork lift truck operator can pick up a loaded pallet provided withthe pallet stacking device and position it as desired in the warehouseor he can first position the pallet and then the pallet stacking devicecan be in-.

stalled, bringing the fork into the space51 between the deck boards oneither side of the center rail.

Next the operator can deposit another pallet and .pallet stacking deviceon the top frame 28 and if be slightly misses his center alignment, hedoes not have to back off and readjust since the side bars 47 allow forslight misalignment by engagement with the rear bar 44 and the side bars47.

The form of FIGURE provides a substitute for the cross brace 38 as shownin the earlier forms, and is designated 38'. It conveniently consists oftop and bottom horizontal members 52 and 53 which run between any twouprights at each side and at the back, suitably consisting of tubularmembers flattened at the ends and receiving pipe straps 36 united bybolts 37. The horiright and left, front and rear corners of zontalmembers-are vertically supported by vertical braces 54 united to thehorizontalmembers at the end as by Welding at 55.

In FIGURE 8 a single diagonal brace 38 is shown which is suitably a tubeflattened at the end and joined to the uprights by pipe straps36'connected by bolts 37.

In some cases, it is preferable to interconnect the uprights on one sideby a continuous foot member running along the side of the pallet andresting on the pallet and also by suitable upper bracing.

In FIGURE 6 I'illustrate a continuous foot 30 which is similar to thatshown in FIGURES l-to 4, and fully connects from the front to the backand is united to uprights as by welding as already described. Theuprights in this case are desirably connected near their upper ends by ahorizontal-connection 56 suitably a tube flattened at the ends andwelded to the uprights at 57.

In theaforrn shown .in FIGURE 7, vertical supports between the uprightsare illustrated at 58 extending from the foot to the upper horizontalsupport 56, and suitably welded at the top and bottom at 60.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art to obtain all or part of the benefits of myinvention Without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claimall such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope ofmy claim. 7

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent'is':

In a pallet stacking device, four uprights positioned at a lower pallet,feet at the bottom of the uprights engaging the lower pallet, an upperframe secured to the four uprights comprising a back bar connecting theright and left rear uprights at the top, and a horizontal side bar ateach side extending from the back bar at a position displaced toward theopposite side of the pallet stacking device from the adjoining rearupright, extending forward to a position adjacent the front upright onthe same side and then bent toward the front upright and securedthereto, whereby the upper frame including the back bar and theside barsat each side can support an upper pallet, and an operator can walk inwithout any obstruction at the front.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,579,685 Loose Dec. 25, 1951 2,598,800 Kopper June 3, 1952 2,657,965Bargen Nov. 3, 1953 2,926,792 Seiz Mar. 1, 1960 r 2,942,826 De Pew et a1June 28, 1960 2,953,340 Skubic Sept. 20, 1960 2,969,948 Higgins Jan.'31,1961 2,994,500' Fraser et al. Aug. 1, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 211,736Austria Oct. 25, 1960

